Solomon was but a type and a figure; for he had but a spark of his glory, and but a beam of his wisdom. When we shall see this peaceable King crowned with an heavenly rainbow, we shall be ravished into admiration, and as it were transported out of ourselves; then we shall speak in this manner to his Divine Majesty: O glorious Monarch, all that I have ever heard or imagined of thy wisdom, of thy glory, riches, beauty, and extraordinary pleasure of thy paradise, is less than true; for it is not the thousandth part of that which I see this day. O blessed are they that dwell in thy house, and that praise thee without ceasing. Happy are they who behold thy glorious face, and hear thy divine wisdom. After that the queen of Sheba had been some time in the court of king Solomon, she returned back to her own home; but when we shall be once entered into the glory and happiness of paradise, we shall never depart out again. We shall behold continually this glorious King of kings, and we shall hear with divine transports of joy the wonderful expressions of his wisdom; we shall not only be with him for ever and ever, but we shall always be in him, and he in us.

To take off your mind from all carnal and worldly thoughts, the glory and happiness of paradise is represented to us by the light, as in Dan. xii. "They that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars, for ever and ever." And in Matt. xiii. our Saviour saith expressly, "That the righteous shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of his Father.”

Finally, It is promised as the highest glory and happiness, that we shall stand before the throne of God, that we shall sit with Jesus Christ upon his throne, and that we shall see his face. St. John in Rev. xxii. speaks in this manner, in the description of the heavenly Jerusalem; he saith, that the throne of God, and of the Lamb, are in it; that his servants

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shall serve him and see his face, and that his name shall be upon their forehead. When we look upon the sun, our faces become not brighter, nor more luminous, nay, many times our eyes thereby dazzle, and our skin becomes blacker and more swarthy. But when we look upon God in his love and glory, we shall be perfectly enlightened, and become brighter and more shining. This appears by Moses's person; when he came down from the holy mountain, his face was full of beams of light, so that the children of Israel could not endure his splendour. If therefore this faithful servant of God had such a bright countenance, by his continuance with God upon an earthly mountain, during the space of forty days and forty nights, and by a sight of some light expressions of his glory; what will be, think ye, your light, and the brightness of your countenances, when you shall be raised above the heavens, to continue with God, and to behold his face thousands and thousands of ages; and the end of all that time, it shall be but the beginning of that most blessed contemplation which shall never end?

When we cast our eyes upon a beautiful person, we become neither more beautiful nor happier. Nothing but an unprofitable idea remains in our fancy, and many times that also quickly vanisheth away. But when we shall look upon God, we shall become like him, and in this likeness we shall find fulness of joy, of happiness and glory; this is promised to us by the royal prophet in Psa. xvi. "In thy presence, Ø God, is fulness of joy; and at thy 'right-hand there are pleasures for evermore." And in Psa. xvii. "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." And the beloved disciple of the Beloved of the Father, whose writings are fullof love, confirms this truth: "Beloved, (saith he,) now we are the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

You see therefore, Christian souls, to what a high perfection of glory and felicity we have a right to pretend. For in heaven God shall not only make us shine as the sun and the stars, he shall not only clothe us with the brightness of the glorified saints and angels; but he promises a great deal more, to make us like to himself; he shall not only satisfy us with the fatness of his house, and cause us to drink of the rivers of his pleasures; he shall not only fill us with his treasures, enlighten us with his brightness, clothe us with his honours, and crown us with his glory; but he himself will become our meat and our drink, our treasure, our sun and glory. And, if I may so speak, to satisfy and perfect our happiness, God shall as it were dissolve himself into rivers and seas of divine and unspeakable pleasures. But, that I may not be misunderstood in such bold and figurative language, it shall suffice me to say with St. Paul, "That God will be in us all in all;" that is to say, that he will dwell and make his abode in us, in respect of his being; and that he will cause us to feel in his glorious presence, as much as a finite and a limited nature, as ours, is capable of. What the Jews have invented of the manna which their fathers fed on in the wilderness, may justly be appropriated to Almighty God, as he intends to reveal himself to us in heaven. For there is no taste but shall be satisfied, no desire but shall be filled. Moreover, God shall be our meat and our drink, our light, also our clothing, and all that we can imagine; in him and his divine enjoyments, we shall find beyond all that we can think or desire. The knowledge of spiritual and celestial things, which we can attain to here, is like the breaking of the day; and that we shall enjoy hereafter, like that of the sun, when it shines in our meridian. But, to speak in the apostle's language, "Now we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect shall come, then that which is in part shall be done away. For now we see through a glass darkly; but then we shall see him face to face." Whilst we continue in this life, God discovers

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to us only the borders of his wisdom; we cannot understand much of it. But, in the life to come, he shall reveal to us the depths of his glorious mysteries, into which the angels themselves desire to pry. In our understandings, God shall be as a sun, to enlighten them for ever and ever; and to scatter away all mists of errors and mistakes. At present our will hath its imperfections, and oft-times it rebels against God; but then it shall be perfectly scanctified and reformed according to the image of God. It shall burn with an holy zeal, and with a love for him. It shall desire nothing but his glory, and a conformity to his holy will.. It shall not only obey God without resistance, but it shall fly with an holy earnestness and speed, to the performance of his sacred com mands. Whilst we remain in the fetters of this infirm and sinful flesh, there is always some filth and disorder in our affections; but when we shall come to this state of glory, God will sanctify them in such a manner by his holy presence, that they shall be purer and clearer than the stars or the sunbeams; they shall become celestial fires, and divine flames, proceeding from God's love to us. In a word, that Being of beings, who is perfection itself, that Author and Origin of all beauty, that object so exceeding glorious and lovely, shall ravish us in such a manner, that our understandings shall be continually employed in beholding him; our wills and affections in loving and embracing him; and all the faculties of our souls shall labour to be united to him, and to be like him. It shall be in this manner that we shall be made partakers of the divine nature. For we must not fancy that we shall be made partakers of God's infinite being; for his divine essence is indivisible, and uncommunicable to the creature, so that none but God can enjoy it. But God's holiness shall imprint in our souls its blessed and glorious image, and that of all its wonderful perfections; when God shall shew himself to us as he is, he will cause us to become like him, by producing in us an impression of his divine countenance.

It may be you will inquire of me, Whether we shall see God, and how we shall behold him?-This question is so rich and considerable, that it deserves to be examined with an holy and religious application. I am persuaded, Christians, that you will not be displeased not only to hear my judgment, but that of the holy scriptures, from whence we draw all our instruction, as out of a fountain. Some imagine, that God cannot be seen, neither in this life, nor in the life to come. Their reasons are very strong and weighty; for First, God is of an invisible nature. This attribute is ascribed to him by the sacred writers; as in the xith of the Hebrews the apostle saith, that Moses, by faith, saw him who is invisible. And in the 1st epistle to Timothy, in the first chapter, he saith, "To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory, for ever and ever,” Amen. Secondly, We read in the xxxiiid of Exodus, when Moses said to God, "I pray thee let me see thy glory;" God answered him, "Thou canst not see my face; for no man shall ever see my face and live." Thirdly, St. John, in the first chapter of his Gospel, speaketh thus, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." Lastly, St. Paul seems to remove all doubts; for he saith not only, " that God alone hath immortality, that he dwells in a light unto which no man can approach, and that no man hath ever seen him;" but he saith more," that no man can see him," 1 Tim. vi.

Others are of a contrary opinion, That God may be seen in this life, but that in the life to come he shall be seen more perfectly. That which encourageth this opinion is, that God hath put into the hearts of all his children an earnest desire of seeing his face; and that in this contemplation they place their greatest happiness and glory. This was David's desire, a man after God's own heart, in the ivth Psalm, " There may be that say, Who shall shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up

the